Catharsis
by Demeter1
Summary: Sing-song, sing-song. Time for marriage and all its exonerably hateful complications. For all you Heero and Relena lovers out there. Included! Mushy romance! Angsting couples! A yaoi duo here and there! And even.... Harry Potter references!


**"Catharsis"**

**Demeter**

Warnings: 2X5, 4XD, CBXOC, RXOC, 1XR all the way… little to no angst… very rare for me, but this took me *forever* for some weird reason. Longest one-shot fic to date also.

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The author claims no legal responsibility for problems associated with using this work. The story, the relationships, and original characters within the fic are copyright of the author Demeter.

* * *

"Was it worth it?"

Wufei looked up from his position on the couch, surprise coloring his elegant features. Setting his book aside, he asked, "What do you mean?"

Relena continued to stare at the mess of pictures, scattered on her desk. She had been spending a few precious hours in bringing out the boxes and boxes of photos that had gathered in the dust for the last fifteen years. Looking through them, she had laughed at the earlier pictures of the silly hairstyles outfits.

But she had grown more and more quiet as the pictures moved to the realm of familiar faces.

And finally, there was one picture, the last one she had of her father, her mother, and her, together. A rarity, considering all the time he spent in space and other countries and her time in boarding schools.

"Was any of that heartbreak worth it?"

Something flickered in those dark eyes. He looked at her over his glasses, contemplating how to respond to that question.

She continued, as if he wasn't in the room.

"So many dead. So many permanently maimed. So many orphans… were… any…does anything we have now, make up for what we went through?"

"Relena."

She continued to look through the pictures, pausing on another one, a single picture of her old butler, Pargan. He looked as venerable as usual… but he was no longer alive. He had died in another attempt on her life.

"So many died for me."

Wufei arched an eyebrow as he listened. So that was what bothered her.

"No, Wufei, it's not. That's not what bothers me right now. It did at a point in my life, but no longer. I just wonder whether there might have been a different path we could have taken, a different way of doing things… instead of having to go to war."

Wufei leaned back into the couch, slightly surprised that she had known what he had been thinking… yet at the same time, he couldn't be. She had always been very perceptive of the people around her.

He spoke, his voice stern. "There would have been no other way, Relena. No other way. People know the effects of a war now."

"How about in thirty years? When the memories begin to fade and vanish, as if that insane war never happened. How about in fifty years, when the war, to so many youths, are just stories told by adults. How about in one hundred and fifty years… when no one remembers what we went through to come to peace… is that when it will start over again?"

Wufei looked slightly disturbed. He had not thought that a woman, a princess who normally had little to say to him, would have had such ideas, such morose words… to him of all people! He was at a loss and was searching for something appropriate to respond to her strangely dark thoughts when he heard laughter.

Relena was laughing.

There was nothing angry or saddening about it. The laugh was rich and full. He couldn't imagine anyone having that sort of laugh while… well, being sad. Unless, he mused, she had even learned to mask her laughter. He examined that sudden thread of thought but almost immediately shied away. To even consider contemplating that deliberation was forbidding.

"I'm sorry, that must have been all too sudden for you. Forget I ever said anything." She paused, "It was just my silly musing."

And that was that.

With near-nigh an astonished look on his normally expressionless face, he watched her stand up and sweep the pictures back into the carton, shutting the lid with a sort of heavy finality. She eyed the box a few lingering seconds before carrying the burden back to a large closet. Depositing the precious photos gently inside, she shut the door and stayed that way for a moment.

And turning back to him, she smiled and said, "Let us go. The meetings start in an hour."

* * *

Wufei was still thinking about that odd conversation…well, more one-sided, but nonetheless, he had responded a bit. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something preoccupying her mind, more than usual.

Duo entered the room, talking animatedly with Quatre about the various details he had been assigned to and how much he was enjoying pulling the out the rug from some of the stiffer politicians.

Spotting Wufei, he bounced over and gave his love a peck on the cheek that Wufei grudgingly allowed, knowing that the kiss was simply Duo's way of showing affection. He had grown to accept and even enjoy it.

"What's wrong, dragon? You seem pensive." Duo peered into Shenlong pilot's eyes and he looked a trifle worried.

"I'm alright… it's just that I had the oddest encounter."

Duo blinked. Quatre gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"That woman. Relena. She started… talking to me."

The other two exchanged amused glances. Quatre coughed delicately and said, "Well, Wufei… er… when one is bored, usually a person will start talking to the only other person in the room."

There was a short pause and then Wufei bristled. "That wasn't it! It was more as if she was talking to herself, even when she directed her blasted comments at me. Bloody fool, asking if it was all worth it."

Quatre started. "What?"

Wufei muttered, "The woman kept talking about too many sacrifices… or something like that." With an aggravated growl, he absently patted his ponytail. Duo grinned wickedly and tugged at it, provoking an outraged shot and the usual threat to cut off the braid.

Quatre laughed from the side, but what Wufei had said, it nagged at him. It wasn't like Relena to talk so darkly… come to think about it, it wasn't like Relena to even think about it. She was always the eternal optimist… and her voicing those doubts… to Wufei… that just screamed something was wrong.

"Hm."

"What's wrong?"

The blonde turned and gave his wife an amused grin. Dorothy smirked a tiny smirk and linked his arm with hers. "I asked, what's wrong?"

"Dorothy, from your side, did Relena seem any different lately?"

She inclined her head, and replied slowly, "Well, she has been slightly preoccupied… but I had assumed that she was simply busy. Relena's that way, you know."

He grinned and pecked her affectionately on the temple. "I know. By the way, what did Cathy say about the invitation?"

"She said that both her Trowa would be there, in full suit and dress regalia."

They both chuckled and with their arms wrapped tightly around each other, they watched Duo and Wufei continue their daily game of "Chase Duo with the Katana".

* * *

Somewhere, in the tiny offices of the Preventer HQ, one solitary man was watching the security monitors, taking exquisite care in making sure that every step Relena Darlian took within the confines of the castle was secure. Half the world was bugged and monitored because of her.

His dark eyes followed her every movement, keeping sure that the surroundings were all precise. He didn't like it when someone blocked his view and usually rung up whoever the culprit was and got the secretary to page that offending individual.

Everything seemed to be in order. He had swept that room himself, and he knew there wasn't a single nook or cranny that wasn't protected. Leaning back into his chair, he studied her profile and noticed that she was smiling at something the Lady of France had whispered into her ear. She nodded in agreement and they both laughed.

He gazed at the expression that wrought her face after that laugh. The lines smoothed away and the tiny wrinkles around her eyes rose like a flock of birds. Relena's cerulean blue eyes twinkled with merriment… she was a sight for hungry eyes.

Then she looked up… exactly at the spot where the recorder was hidden… supposedly. Her head tilted wonderingly and he could imagine seeing her give a tiny smile to the camera before turning back toward the group.

Heero sat, completely stilled. That smile had been small, all knowing, and worldly; as if she knew he had been watching her from afar. He twisted slightly uncomfortably in his chair. The usually emotionless pilot hadn't spent all that time with Duo for nothing. He had gained somewhat of a vision on Relena after countless analyses.

There had been times when he had even dared to examine his feelings for her. From a purely distanced point of view of course, but nonetheless, he was starting to think that perhaps, just maybe, he liked her more than as the "dove of peace".

And as usual, he snorted and returned to his work. Never a moment of time must be wasted when any sort of assassin might be lurking around the corner, just waiting to kill her.

He also ignored the involuntary shudder, so small that normally no one would have noticed.

But he did.

* * *

Catherine Bloom, the soon-to-be-Catherine-Gray, nearly bounced into the room, hauling her adopted little brother after her, muttering about clandestine meetings and restrictive scientists.

Quatre greeted the two of them with a pleasant and welcoming smile and left Dorothy to entertain Cathy while he pulled Trowa aside. The two women were used to this now; there was a unique bond between the pilots, sometimes frighteningly close, but mostly like soul-brothers, enough to understand, far enough to give space. Even Dorothy, who had once professed some jealousy, understood that it was different from what most people thought.

However, she still didn't relish hearing more of the insinuations some people made about her husband and his best friend.

"Trowa. Something happened earlier with Wufei and Relena."

"What?"

"No, it wasn't a falling out. Not even close. She mentioned something about sacrifice and worthiness. I'm not really sure since Wufei was rather vague."

Trowa studied Quatre's expression. There wasn't so much as worry then simple disturbance. "You think it's something we should be worried about?"

"Not really. Wufei said that she was perfectly fine afterwards and that she even laughed normally. However, you know that Wufei is not exactly… " He trailed off, in search of an appropriate adjective. "Perceptive." He finished delicately.

Trowa allowed a tiny smile and the questioned softly, "Did you talk to her yourself yet?"

"No, not yet. I haven't had the time. Nor have I been able to whisk her away from all those pontificating fools."

Trowa shook his head and quickly filled the diplomat on what had happened the last time Relena had visited the circus. Nothing major had occurred, but he *had* noticed that she seemed inattentive, even during the knife show, which she had once professed to be her favorite of all the acts.

Quatre shook his head. "Maybe we're looking at things that aren't there. You know we're apt to worry where Relena's concerned. It could be just we're being paranoid."

The pilot of Heavyarms laughed softly. "Perceptual Set is what you're referring to. Quatre, you may be a worrywart, but you're not paranoid."

Quatre grinned and they moved onto more amicable subjects, such as which date Catherine had changed the wedding to this week.

* * *

Relena was still making her rounds around the room when a finger tapped her on the shoulder and she heard the low drawl of Duo Maxwell washing over her. Twisting her head, she couldn't help but grin at the evil smirk on his otherwise gorgeous face. Excusing herself from the Minister of Britain, she followed Duo to the side.

Hey Princess." She laughed at that. He was the only one who got away with calling her that. Anyone else, and she would have administered the 'cold-shoulder' treatment a long time ago.

"Hello Prince." This was an old routine for them, stemming back from the time he had called her good-looking and her commenting on the beauty of his ass. That had surprised him, she recalled.

"I've been hearing rumors running around. Care to tell me which of them is true, and what's jealous hogwash?" His deep lilac eyes twinkled.

"Do your worst."

"I heard you were shagging Wufei in the Preventer room."

"That came from the fact that I entered the room where you and him had already 'shagged' and you didn't have the decency to let Wufei and me leave before three secretaries entered, full regalia at that."

"Don't suppose the little shred of gossip that the Crown Prince of Britain was trying to impress you by displaying his personal guard, in full battle gear, in the middle of a lightening storm, was true?"

"Oh, I'm sure. Nothing says "I want peace!" better than pilea of smoldering ash."

Duo chuckled at that. "How 'bout the fact that you threw all your awards and trophies into a pile and screamed for the maids to burn them?"

"A little bit. I asked them to pack the memorabilia away."

"You crack me up, Princess." With that he pulled her onto a couch and slung one of his arms around her, ignoring the sudden gasps.

"You do know you just created another rumor? One that's far more life-threatening."

"Yeah, nothing like having everyone think the Queen is dating a commoner."

Relena stiffened just slightly and then said quietly, "I told you, never call me that."

"Sorry." He rubbed her pale neck in remorse. She allowed a tiny smile to grace his obviously repentant demeanor. Leaning together, their foreheads touching, they talked about other, more mundane subjects.

Unaware of a green-eyed man watching them thoughtfully, fingering the delicately folded slip of paper in his hand. She had requested another copy… but she was obviously engrossed with whomever she was talking to.

He could wait and allow Relena a few more minutes with her friend.

* * *

Well, she had looked at the proposal from every direction, every possible angle. She had thought about it for weeks. So far, she had seen nothing wrong with it, nothing at all.

Relena cupped her chin in her hands. That was what she was afraid of. There was no reason to reject the proposal; he even said that they could adopt if necessary. She knew that Fanel was a good man… even better. He had the same sort of decency and integrity that was like Quatre.

_A marriage between us would suit all; even those of Earth and the colonies. _

She had to think clearly. If she did marry him, then the union (she had to laugh at the unintentional pun) between Earth and the Colonies would meld together. After all, he was the Ambassador for the Colonies; she the Vice-Foreign Minister. They were equally important and neither would pull the other down.

And she had met him before. He was a truly wonderful man; she could have done much worse, such as the Prince of France. Fanel cared for her, as did she for him. They had many common interests and they conversed easily. Which to say was better than many of the political marriages she had seen.

Most had gone down the drain very easily.

But, this one had a decisive chance of succeeding.

She leaned back into her chair, wondering listlessly what she should… or wanted to do. Relena was getting along on her years. The courts were pressuring her to marry and more than one proposal had made their way onto her desk.

Fanel was a good man.

He was tall, lanky, carried himself with an elegant grace, and had the most amazing liquid green eyes. She had heard he had even been listed as one of the most eligible bachelors in one teen magazine or another.

This marriage would solve a variety of problems and he had already told her that if she loved someone else, someone she couldn't wed, he still wished to marry her, _because he also loved someone he could never have_. His brutal honesty was one more factor of why she was actually considering the idea.

Relena's eyes wandered to a photo, one of many on her desk. It was a photo of her, her brother, the pilots, and her friends, all squished in for a pretty picture that Pargan had taken shortly before his death. Even Heero and Trowa had consented to pose with them.

She took it up and cradled the glossy frame for a moment.

Done too much to just stop it all right here…

Relena looked up and situated the picture tenderly back onto the desk. Something fundamental set in her eyes. The cerulean blue were determined, resolute in what she was about to do. Briskly, with business-like efficiency, she opened her vid-com and called Fanel Delange.

The vid-screen opened into a study she knew very well. After all, he was in one of her offices in the mansion, one of the many delegates in the area for the Grand ball in a week. He was obviously distracted because he didn't look at the screen as he spoke. "Hello. This is Fanel Delange."

"Fanel."

The man from the screen looked up in surprise. A warm smile spread on his handsome face. "Relena! How are you?"

She couldn't help but grin back at him. She was really rather fond of him. "I'm well. And you?"

"Couldn't be better. I buttered the Vice-Ambassador from the L1 colony up nicely."

Relena chuckled. "That's a wonderful feat, Fanel!" She hesitated, "I'm calling about the marriage proposal."

His green eyes widened in surprise. "So soon? I thought you needed an additional week? "

"Well, yes, but the second copy you gave me was thorough enough. I have decided," Relena paused to take a deep breath. "I have decided to accept your offer."

There was a short silence on his end as he stopped what he was doing and observed her for several minutes. His contemplative look annoyed her somewhat, but she couldn't really blame him. She had been notorious for refusing every marriage proposal to come her way.

Fanel studied the vice-foreign minister. She wasn't gorgeous or pretty in the sense of the word. He would have hated that. But she was striking, graceful, and immortal. There was an ageless depth in her eyes that he particularly liked.

He knew he felt a great deal of affection for her. That was more than could be said of many politicians. And he knew she also cared for him. But he also knew that she probably loved someone else, as he did. But he had chosen her because they were both one of the important figures on the frontlines. Their alliance would be important for what they were both trying to achieve.

"Relena… you're sure?"

She thought about all that had happened in the last few years. All starting when she had watched that supposed shooting star in the sky, fighting the soldier who had turned out to be her long-lost brother.

There are moments in every person's life when all the memories comes rushing back in a heated blur, moving in a frenetic rush, stopping spastically for certain moments to be seen in complete clarity. Everything she had done, everything she hadn't. All the mistakes she had made, all the choices that had ultimately benefited the greater good.

All her choices.

Relena thought about those now.

"I'm sure."

Fanel allowed a small smile. He couldn't really jump up and down in joy could he? After all, they both knew that they would have preferred someone else. However, they were doing this for all the people who had and were suffering. This alliance had too many benefits for them to focus on the negative aspects. However…

"How about children?"

Relena paused. "If you wish, children would be fine." She gazed at him. "After all, you aren't completely bad-looking."

He burst into laughter. Trust Relena to make a joke about the moment. "I see. Then adoption is not necessary?"

"No."

He nodded. "That's good. I had been hoping for children of my own, even if…"

"Fanel, I care for you. Probably far more than for many other people. I also would like children and better with you than with some pompous git."

She stopped, her eyes pensive. "However, there is a favor I must ask."

"Yes?"

"I would like you to refrain from telling anyone. We'll announce it at the Grand Ball… but I would like to inform my family privately first.." Relena then realized how odd that sounded. Her only known family was her older brother. She hastened to amend that last statement. "You know I have no family except Zechs. But… I have friends that I consider closer than family. They are all I have left and there are some circumstances why I would tell them first. You know the Gundam pilots, right?"

Fanel nodded, understanding dawning on his face. "Of course. We'll wait until the Grand Ball then."

They talked about a few more things, each wishing the other a good day before shutting off. Relena stared at the blank screen, her mind absorbing what had just happened. Breathing in slowly, she took the proposal and raked over the elegant writing.

"No point in anyone from the media finding out."

With that, she took a lighter from her desk and with a single click, a merry flame burst forth in its entirety and hungrily consumed the parchment, greedily in its haste. The words '_I wish to propose a marriage between Fanel Delange and Relena Peacecraft' _brightened before being completely consumed into ash.

With a small shudder, Relena hid her face in her hands.

She cared for Fanel. She truly did.

But he was no little 'Prince'.

* * *

Duo poked his head from the doorway of the bathroom, his face covered with shaving cream. "Yeah?"

Wufi was consulting all the mail they had received this morning and one had caught his attention… well, two, but since they were from the same person, he could safely assume that they were nearly the same one.

"The tickets for the Grand Ball are here. I suppose we have to go." Wufei couldn't even attempt to hide the contempt in his voice. He detested fancy balls with all their fancy dresses and suits and… well, he preferred to stay at home with his Duo.

Duo hopped over and examined the two. "Well, yeah, one of them is a formal invite, but the other is from little lady." He handed Wufei his razor and opened the delicately sealed envelope and scanned the contents of the single sheet.

"What do you know? Little lady's inviting us for a private dinner that's going to happen four days before the ball. She says that it's really important that we all go." He paused. "She underlined important six times."

Wufei snorted. "Do we have to go?"

Duo cast him a look of mock disapproval. "And disappoint Relena? No way. I'm going and so are you." With a Look that quelled all sorts of possible arguments, he took back the razor and flounced back into the bathroom.

Wufei sighed. Anytime Duo gave him the Look, he couldn't even attempt to bring up a possible idea of saying "no".

* * *

Relena greeted Catherine as she sailed in, Trowa on one arm and Lance, her fiancé, on the other. She affectionately pecked Trowa on the face and exchanged cordial greetings with Lance. They were among the first to arrive. The only ones also in were her brother and Lucy. And they lived in the mansion… so, that wasn't really much of a surprise.

Usually, Pargan would be there to take their coats, but since he wasn't… she said that they could just toss them into the sitting room.

Duo and Wufei arrived next, Quatre and Dorothy following shortly. Hilde bounced in next with Sally in tow, the three hugging each other like long-lost sisters, since it had been a while since the trio had met. Lady Une and Marimeia entered, one smiling gently, the other exuberant about getting a chance to have dinner with the "adults".

Lady Une cast a deep and appraising look at Relena. Relena shook her head subtly. She had informed Lady Une of what had happened to ensure that the stern woman would come no matter what. With a nod, Lady Une ushered Marimeia into the interior.

And the last to come was Heero; entering so quietly that at first she hadn't even noticed him until he stated her name.

He earned a short hug, a bit longer than usual, but otherwise, nothing seemed amiss in her attitude.

They all chatted a bit before sitting down to dinner, each dying with curiosity of why Relena had gone to all the trouble of inviting her. Three of them already knew, since she had wanted some sort of backing when she announced the… joyous news.

Relena couldn't help but notice with fondness that they were all laughing and talking. She had dreamed since she was little, to have a table of real friends, where she could do what she wanted, say what she wanted, and just laugh and eat as if there was no tomorrow.

She felt truly lucky she had made so many good friends.

With a clinking of her wineglass, she stood up and cleared her throat. With an expectant pause, Relena pinned each with her bottomless gaze before speaking.

"As you all know, I stated that there was an important reason of why I wanted everyone to attend. It wasn't so much a flimsy excuse for a chance to get all of us in the same room for once." She paused to let the chuckles die down. "I do have something very important to announce, and I wanted you all to know before the official announcement during the Grand Ball."

There was a sudden hush. Hilde started to speak but was quelled with a look from Sally. Zechs allowed an encouraging glance. Relena took a deep breath.

Facing a maniacal Gundam was easier than this.

"As you all know, there have been many pressures lately, from the people and the other powers for me to marry. As you all know, I have rejected the proposals. But, in light of a new one, of an ambassador you all know, a suit has been given me which I have considered most carefully."

She could almost hear rather than see the dawning realization of what she was about to say. With a nervous breath, she shut her eyes.

"I have accepted the marriage proposal of Fanel Delange."

There was not a single sound.

Well, they had taken it better than she had thought they would.

She cracked her eyes open and saw mirrored looks of horror on all their faces, except Zechs, Lucy and Lady Une. And they had already given those to her. A short screech echoed. Relena smiled. She had known that Dorothy would protest quite loudly.

"You're getting MARRIED?"

"Er… yes. I had thought I made that clear with the part about the marriage proposal."

"But you… he… you don't…" Hilde sputtered incoherently.

"Yes. I know. We have both decided that this would be the best possible alliance between the Colonies and Earth." Her eyes moved to Duo and pleaded for him to help.

But the violet eyes seemed too much in shock for him to say a great deal… and there was a hint of betrayal lurking in their depths. Relena almost felt like stamping her foot in frustration. They shouldn't act like that!

"I know this comes as a sudden shock to all of you, but I really need your support. Please" Her last plea broke through most and they glanced guiltily at each other. They would have to support her of course. She was one of their closest friends.

However, that didn't mean they would like it.

There was a short silence as everyone tried to think of something to say.

"Fanel. He's a good man." Quatre finally added, his voice more than a little bewildered. "But he lives in the colonies. How is that to work?"

Relena felt relieved. This was a question she could easily answer. "We have decided to keep both residences and to divide our time equally between the two. This will quell rumors that either Fanel or I are abandoning our respective posts." Relena hesitated for a fraction of a second, before barreling on. "I know this is a distressing to say the least… however, I have made my choice."

Relena steeled herself and then looked straight at Heero Yuy. "And I intend to uphold it."

She searched for something, anything to reveal themselves in those Prussian blue eyes. However, as usual, she didn't see any sort of emotion that would have indicated how he felt about the whole fiasco. Relena wasn't really surprised… but she had held some sort of half-hearted wish that he would jump up and scream for her to marry HIM.

Almost snorting, Relena brightly asked for the maids to bring in dessert.

For the rest of the evening, the group was unusually quiet, each staring into their plates, unsure of what to say.

Needless to say, the dinner ended on a somber note and they left as quickly as they could.

Relena sighed and ordered the maids to clean up. She had a big day tomorrow.

* * *

That night, Relena stumbled into her room, exhausted from the lengthy talk she had with Zechs and Noin. They both supported her the entire way, even as her brother ventured that perhaps, "Heero would have been a better choice."

She had curtly answered him that Heero had never asked her to marry him. And then pointed out that Zechs had tried to kill the pilot of Zero once.

Which easily, if not safely, quelled any more questions. Relena collapsed into her chair, deciding that she was too keyed up now to sleep. She stared absently at the dying fire in the hearth. There had been a numbing quality to the whole idea of her getting married.

She was, after all, already in her twenties. The possibility of marriage didn't last forever… not even in private worlds of imagination. Fleeting dreams were just that. Fleeting. Her biological clock, so to say, was ticking and she really did want some children of her own, to relieve some of the loneliness.

Relena wondered if this was part of the reason her adoptive father took her in.

But best not dwell on that idea, she told herself. After all, they would be announcing the marriage soon. She would have to present the perfectly balanced façade of nervous worry and intense eagerness. Certainly, that would take much work on her part to maintain.

With a sigh, she walked unsteadily toward her vanity table and undid her elaborate hairdo. Relena tugged her earrings till the came off with a small 'pop' and unclasped her necklace. The reduction of metal greatly lightened her feelings. And her body, if she was allowed to be literal.

She was about to undo her blouse when she heard a small, but distinct cough of warning.

Relena spun around, while simultaneously reaching into her desk and grabbing the well-hidden butcher knife.

Leaning against the window, perfectly in the shadows, enough in the light so she could see the features of his face, and carrying more than enough injured air for the both of them. She could make out the visage and she instinctively knew that Heero had once again, snuck into her bedroom.

"Heero! How did you get up here?!" She looked frantically around her room. He couldn't have created another way into her sleeping apartment without Zechs knowing, could he?

"I climbed up the ivy leaves outside your trellis. Really, a balcony is good and all, but it screams for people to come in," was his less-than-assuring reply.

"Thanks for the hint. I'll be sure to tell all the gardeners to strip the wall of every single piece of ivy. Happy?"

"No." She could almost swear that she heard a light chuckle in his voice.

"Heero. If I wasn't a pacifist, I would say, 'I'm going to kill you'. Since I am, I'll have to settle for you getting out of here."

"No."

"Do you have hearing problems? Are you deaf? I said get out!" Relena whisper-screamed the last word and really, she was furious. She had enough troubles already and here Heero was, playing cryptic guy to the bad, bad bone.

"You're not getting married to him."

Relena stopped in the middle of angry mutterings and she could only stare at him, blown apart from that single statement. She tried to say something, anything, but her mind had frozen up in their workings and the wheels had stopped turning.

She made an excellent fish.

"You… You… What did you say?"

" You're not getting married."

Normally, when the one person you had ever entertained thoughts of getting married to turns up to tell you *not* to marry the guy you were actually marrying, you would jump up and down with joy right? Or at least slap him.

The very first thought that came to Relena's mind was that he was insane and that she wanted to laugh.

So she did.

His expression didn't change whatsoever, and for some strange reason, that angered Relena more than anything he could have said or done. "Heero. For the last time. Please, leave."

"I can't."

"Why not?" She always felt she turned back into that petulant fourteen year-old he first met on the beach when she was around him.

"Because you won't be happy marrying him."

Relena shook her head in the sheer disbelief. Heero could be such an egomaniac if the situation prescribed it. "I'm sorry, but my hearing must be going. I could have sworn you just said that I wouldn't be happy marrying Fanel."

"You won't."

"How the hell would you know?" She winced involuntarily at the rough language. Even at her worst, she had never resorted to swearing.

"I know."

Relena sighed. "Heero. Let me tell you clearly. You don't know. You shouldn't be here. And you should get out."

Heero didn't move a muscle.

With a sigh of frustration, she stalked to her phone and punched in her brother's room. "Zechs? There's an insane maniac in my room, threatening me. Please come and get rid of him." She paused, clearly expecting him to come rushing into her room, roaring in defense of her honor.

Using his superlative hearing skills, he heard the tinny voice of Zechs Merquise saying, "It's Heero isn't it? Tell him good luck for me." And with a decisive click, he hung up. Relena stared at the phone in shock. She had just told him his worst nemesis was in the room and he had *hung* up on her?

Replacing the phone in its cradle, she turned slowly and glared resentfully at the 'semi-perfect-soldier'. "Well, knowing you, you probably already heard the whole conversation. What are you going to do?"

Heero shrugged carelessly and with a calculated arrogance, he sauntered to her couch and flopped onto it. With a tiny smirk, he patted the seat next to him and clearly expected her to join him without any arguments.

_Yeah right. As if I'm going to be some sort of servant… GOD DAMN my traitorous body!_

Relena found herself already in the seat, sitting primly at the edge. Staring straight ahead, she refused to look or even deign herself to glance at the mortal who dared insult her.

Heero snaked out a hand a tugged gently on one bouncy curl. Relena stilled. She didn't like it when he touched her without warning sometimes. He just wasn't the type to make a girl aware that they were just 'friends'. He was definitely all male, and he made her acutely aware of the fact that she was all female.

"Relena."

She figured there was no harm in responding. "What?"

Without another word, he tucked a hand under her chin and turned her head firmly toward his. She felt her heart palpitate with the sudden anticipation. Her throat dry, she tried to turn away in vain. He allowed his burning eyes to caress her delicate face before lowering his lips onto hers in a brutal, searing kiss.

She had imagined for months, what his lips would feel like on hers.

Nothing could have prepared her for the lightening, for the white blades of heat that danced on her nerves, for the dizziness that darkened her vision. The kiss was like falling into a vat of flames, without any of the burning pain; just the heat, the blessed warmth that roared through her ears like a tidal wave of delicious fire.

Relena felt herself turn to liquid, the heat running through her like molten metal, feeling as if her bones had fallen apart, torn into puppet-like appendages. When he lifted his mouth a fraction off hers, she wanted to pull him back towards her, to let her slip back into the pool of fire.

With a growl, Heero pressed his lips back to hers, pulling her toward him, aligning their body together into an embrace that had every inch of their bodies touching. Her slipped his mouth to her neck, licking at the delicate skin, nuzzling at the hollow of her throat, causing her – dear god – pulse to pound. All she wanted was to lose her self in this sinfully heated embrace.

All that mattered were his hands on her back, running restlessly in circles, leaving patches of heat wherever they strayed, his lips and tongue in hers, the wild beating of his heart. She was drowning, drowning without any water at all.

Her eyes opened dizzily and she stared into passion-darkened eyes.

She almost literally felt a splash of ice water.

His eyes were _dark blue_. Fanel's were _liquid green._

With a gasp, she yanked herself away from, tearing her lips ruthlessly from his, feeling bereft for a moment, before allowing the anger to spill in waves of hatred.

Relena stood, barely holding back a moan. With shaking hands, she pointed toward her doors and managed to whisper, "Out. Out. Out. OUT." She turned away, not bothering to see if he followed her orders. She didn't care if he did or not. All she wanted was for him to leave her alone.

When there was no sound of the closing door, she screamed in a whisper, the hurt rolling off her, "Out Heero. Please, just leave."

And without another word, he did.

Relena collapsed onto her bed, sinking into the softness, burying her face into the silken covers as the wracking sobs escaped her tightly pressed lips. She raged in inefficient fury. How *dare* he! How dare he come into her room and kiss her like no one had ever kissed her!

She felt her tears drying up as her anger was fueled. With un-pacifist-like thoughts of murder and mayhem, Relena built on the anger, intent on making sure he never came near her again. He could go ahead with his fancy-pansy equipment that would allow him to watch over her; she would ignore him!

She would never see him!

She would make sure that he regretted EVER kissing her!

She would denounce him to the entire group!

And she could be a bit more delusional.

Relena's anger deflated in an instant. Reaching for a tissue, she tearfully blew her nose and sniveled back a laugh. She knew as well as he that she *liked* that kiss. Loved, she amended. But Heero could go to hell first before she ever told him.

_Not that he doesn't know. He's probably even expecting me to go running and ask for more, the smug jerk._

Not that she would have minded… but the principle of the whole situation!

"And I've betrayed Fanel before even marrying him! Some devoted wife I'm turning out to be." Relena muttered before undressing and throwing on her oldest, most comfortable nightgown. She needed some serious cuddle time now.

Leaving her bedroom, she wandered to her brother's room and knocked, knowing from past experiences that entering without knocking for *any* couple was dangerous to say the least. Shuddering, she waited for his answering call.

There was a groggy, "What?" Good. He had been sleeping. Well, good that he wasn't doing anything with Noin she amended silently.

"Zechs? It's me."

There was a startled silence on the other side. She could hear whispers, sleepy questions, before a rustle indicated that someone was dragging himself or herself from the warm, comfortable bed.

_Sorry you two._

She waited patiently for several minutes before the door was finally opened, after she had listened to muted curses as he tripped over several things on his way through the huge bedroom.

"Relena, it's one in the morning. What's wrong?" She could tell that he was being as pleasant as possible without completely losing his temper.

She shifted uncomfortably in her nightgown. "I'm having trouble sleeping by myself. Could I sleep with you and Lu?"

For a second, she thought he would close the door in stunned surprise. But quickly recovering, Zechs opened the door wider and allowed her to run and snuggle into the huge bed with him and Lu. The older woman wrapped an arm around Relena in affection. The sleepiness disappeared and all that could be seen in the dark eyes was worry for what caused the recession back to the childhood habit of sleeping with her older brother.

Zechs had joined them by then and he allowed an arm to sneak its way above Relena's ahead. Snuggled between the two of the, Relena felt a bit better. They were like teddy bears, only warmer. And bigger.

"Do you want to tell us?"

Relena bit her lip. She wanted so badly just to spill it all out… she supposed an edited version wouldn't hurt.

"He… Heero was in my room."

She could almost *feel* the two of them glance at each other above her head. They had some sort of "Relena" radar that attuned them even more perfectly within each other's mental maps. Sometimes, she almost thought they were telepathic.

Relena related what had happened, using the shortest possible sentences and ending up with a blush and the faint words, "And, well, he kissed me."

There was another startled silence and once again, Zechs and Lu just *looked* at each other knowingly, as if all the pieces of the puzzle had fallen in place. Shaking her head in frustration, she started ranting into what really bothered her.

"And he just *leaves*! Not a word! Not a single word! He didn't even ask whether I would be all right. Oh, the audacities of his behavior… remember you asked me once whether I loved Heero, and I said I don't know? Well, let me tell you, sure I do! But sometimes I would rather have his little cheating heart torn out of his body!" She nearly shrieked the last few words and the two winced.

Lu put a placating hand on Relena's upper arm. "Relena, I know you feel angry," she was interrupted by sputtering of 'angry? I'm furious!' but barreled on, "But if you look past all that anger, you'll find a part of you that simply doesn't want this marriage to happen."

The Peacecraft siblings looked at each other before turning to look at her, close to what seemed to be amusement lurking in their eyes. Zechs cleared his throat and asked her in his grave voice, "You've been reading those Freudian psychoanalysis books again, haven't you Lu?"

There was a moment of silence before Noin sniffed in mock anger and said with a snobbish tone, "Well, someone has to. You wouldn't know how to analyze a woman if your life depended on it. "

The two bickered for several minutes before Relena finally glared at them and said in injured tones, "I'm the one that's supposed to be ranting and being comforted right now. I need some support here!"

They stopped, semi-guilty looks on their faces. Zechs immediately started brushing Relena's hair, winding the silvery strands in his hands. With a sigh, he rested his cheek on her head and asked, his voice soft and persuading. "Relena, tell me. Do you truly want to marry Fanel?"

There was a long pause. She stilled in his hands and for a moment, he was afraid that he had lost her yet again. And then Relena shook her head. With a soft whisper, her voice cracking with an unexplainable emotion, she said, "No. I do not truly want to marry Fanel."

Noin and Zechs looked at each other again, the poignant pause loud.

"But… I will marry him. I've decided." And with that, Relena crawled from the bed and whispered, "Thanks. I think I have my head screwed on straight again." Leaving the room, she shut the door very quietly; making sure that the entire castle could sleep on during her midnight strolls.

For a moment, there wasn't any speaking except the deep pondering of the two occupants of the room. Finally, her voice hesitant, Noin said, "Perhaps we should ask the others to do something?"

Zechs shook his head, his eyes darkening. "No. I know that tone. She's decided. There will be no more discussion on the subject, I think. Not even… I don't think that even Duo or Quatre could convince her now." Noin glanced at him, then moved her body toward the center and placed her head on his chest, soothing his troubled thoughts with her presence.

The two lay awake for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning, Relena felt unduly refreshed. Maybe because her maid had, under suspicious circumstances, said that it was ordered to let her sleep in. Maybe because her breakfast was a powering combination of everything she loved, and none of the silly health stuff she usually choked down under doctor's orders.

Of course, the general feeling of goodwill toward all humans started evaporating once the phone calls started.

First, Dorothy rung in and started ranting, in that cold, hard way of hers, that Relena was insane and that she would personally make sure that the wedding didn't go through. Relena has merely listened and then in that warm, fun way of hers, told Dorothy gently that she was marrying Fanel and that was that.

A different spectrum of emotions passed over her pale face and Dorothy tried to answer that with a nasty reply, but found herself stripped of all evilness and with a grumble in her countenance, reluctantly agreed to support her friend.

Dorothy was the only one to vehemently oppose the marriage, but out of all the phone calls, the one that hurt the most was Duo's. He had asked her quietly, in that deadly serious voice of his, whether she meant marrying Fanel, and when she had confirmed his question, the only thing he had said was that he hoped she didn't regret any of it. 

_"How could I regret it?"_

_"Because you're not thinking."_

_"Of course I'm thinking! This is a beneficial marriage that will be appreciated by all!"_

_"I'm saying that you're not thinking about yourself. You're treating this like another agreement."_

_"How else am I supposed to treat it?"_

_"To sound corny, you're supposed to be thinking with your heart, not your brain."_

She had never felt so helpless against any force. But Duo had been right. She needed treat this more like a marriage rather than a business agreement.

But how dare he say that!

The hours had flown by, with her convincing the others to attend to ball in order to provide her with support. They had all agreed and in her own way, busy with the planning, she managed to forget about what had happened that night…

The nightmares had started. Trickling through her mind like specters, bent on driving her mad. But, as usual, she ignored them and continued her daily activities. Truly, she could almost believe that she had never been happier.

Key word: almost.

Of course, she couldn't fool herself into thinking that this was her heart's desire. And naturally, Relena felt a few misgivings on what life after a couple years would be like. Growing old and wrinkled with Fanel wouldn't exactly be hard to tolerate… but certainly, he wasn't the type of guy she wanted to be seeing every night for the next seventy years. He just wasn't. And then add in the fact that he didn't really want to wake up with her in his arms either… which, in the end, led to a pair of very depressed individuals.

* * *

At the moment Relena was rushing around, Fanel found himself brooding in his private chambers, more than ready to get headily drunk to forget that in a few months time, he would be a married man and no longer free on the market.

He snorted. As if he had ever been free. The only woman for him ever would have been…

_If you hadn't disappeared from my life, 'Mione, maybe we would be happily married. Then maybe, Relena and I wouldn't be in this mess._

Married. He snorted elegantly and took another swig of his ages-old brandy. Swirling the amber liquid in the glass, he noted with sordid detachment, that the alcohol reminded him of the liquid caramel color of her silky hair. He still remembered with chilling clarity how she felt in his arms that last starry night.

*Crash*

He found himself staring dully at the slowly widening stain on the deep velvet drapes. The glass lay shattered, forlorn, empty. Fanel could only glare owlishly at the offending decanter before storming into his bedroom and, as only he could, gracefully flopping on the bed.

"Blasted social norms." He gazed at the rich canopied ceiling before speaking to the lonely spirits that only he could hear and see, his voice rough. "Well. Father. I suppose you've won. I'm marrying the richest, most important diplomat of them all. You would have finally been proud. You're name is preserved forever."

A jagged laugh escaped his vocal cords, much like a sob.

"Marriage. The one thing I might have controlled. And you had to take even that from me. And you had to wrench the two of us apart. Just like Romeo and Juliet. How did it go?" His voice had grown slightly dreamy in the blood-drenched memories.

_Romeo, oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, refuse thy name, for thou shalt no longer be a Capulet_

The cynical voices in his head whistled.

Fanel wanted to swear. Curse loudly. Creatively. Pretend that there was no tomorrow and drink himself to a rip-roaring state of drunkenness. But of course, he was Fanel Delange. He didn't do that sort of thing. Fanel Delange was a man of morality and truth and excellent perfection.

"If I could… 'Mione… If I could go back…" His voice trailed to a fervent whisper, "If I could return to those days of running with you in the field. Just the two of us. Alone without anyone else. If I could return, I would have ended my life long ago."

"Then why didn't you?"

His head snapped up and looked right into the cold, violet eyes of Duo Maxwell.

* * *

Relena had resorted to wandering around the castle, avoiding everyone of importance to her, and anyone who was trying to reach her for comment on the Grand Ball. And that wasn't even mentioning the blasted tabloids.

Her wits were frazzled, taut, and ready-to-explode. But as usual, she took it all in stride, her surface expression one of perfected happiness and smiling docility.

"Of course the ball will be attended by the ambassador of the outer rings." And, "Yes, Mr. Winner will also be there." And, "No, I do not think that any press except for those invited ill be allowed to enter; however, details must be pried from my elder brother. He is the one who has all the details." She managed to emphasize Zech's name and that was an indication for the media to back off.

She had seen neither hide nor hair of Heero Yuy since that night.

_Damn him. If he thinks that he can just waltz in and give me the kiss that made me melt into his arms and then lose all control in my bones, just because my nerves are stupid little buggers, well, he has another thing coming to him. _

Relena realized her train of thought and banished the traitorous memory of the deliciously sinful kiss that probably would have branded her some form of a 'whore' if it ever got out to the public.

_Stupid slang. There's nothing equivalent in the language about men. 'Bastard's' almost sort of complimenting the guy…_

With an aggravated sigh, she dragged her fingers through her mussed hair and decided that she deserved a long walk in the gardens. Certainly, no one would bother her there except the occasional songbird.

"Who the hell are you?" That was the first sentence that managed to make it's coherent way out of Fanel's lips.

"Name's not important at the moment."

Fanel eyed the boy… man, and realized that he was the violet-eyed male whom he had seen conversing more than a little comfortably with Relena. "You're Relena's friend?"

"Yeah, in a way. Of course, little lady doesn't realize that I'm here of course."

"What do you want?"

"You tell me."

There was a moment of confused silence before Fanel managed to string together a sarcastic comment. "Of course, let me see. A strange man appears out of nowhere in my room and then tells _me_ to tell him what he's 'doing' here." His green eyes suddenly widened. "Wait a minute. You have the lilac eyes… Which pilot was it… Oh, Relena had mentioned them to me…" He racked his mind for the appropriate name and finally, in the wellspring of information, he snagged a name.

"Heero?"

"Sorry, pal. Wrong guy."

"Er… Trowa?"

"Nope, though I could say that you look like him."

"Then… it has to be Duo. I know who Quatre Raberba Winner is and you don't look Asian enough to be a 'Wufei'."

Duo smirked, his smiled edged with a little malevolence. "Got it right on the last try… Gee, Sherlock, sure you're not a bit senile?"

Fanel's eyes narrowed. He may not have been a soldier, but being a diplomat meant strengthening himself with self-defense classes. He wasn't going to just sit and take this attitude from some strange upstart pilot who had the gall to enter _his_chambers and violate _his _rights.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Duo Maxwell. But unfortunately, it has been a long day and all I wish is that you leave me and attend to your own business." Spinning on his heel, he intended on calling security, if not bodily kicking out the pilot himself.

"You're intending to marry Relena. That makes you all of my business."

Fanel stopped in his tracks. Counting slowly to ten, he turned around, his green eyes now sober and completely dark. The lack of expression satisfied Duo. Good, an adversary he could duel and match wits with.

"And what, pray I ask, does that mean?"

"You're not Relena's type."

"Oh? And how would you know?"

"I know. Relena's my…" He trailed off, in search for an appropriate word. "She's like my little sister."

The diplomat gave a bark of laughter. "Really? And here I thought her only living relative was Zechs Merquise."

Duo moved as if to lunge forward, but he checked himself. Smiling coolly, he remarked, "Listen to me, you ass-poled jerk. Relena's worth ten of you. And from what I've heard and found, you're not exactly _devoted_ to her, are you?" His voice held a tone of anger.

"Well, Relena's not exactly _devoted_ to me either, is she? Wasn't it…Heero Yuy?" He held a triumphant smile at the pilot and Duo snorted. Trust a diplomat to play around with words.

"So you read the tabloids. Good thing you do; otherwise your body would be lying in pieces around the bedroom."

"Go right ahead. I really don't care."

"So I heard."

There was a moment of silence, the words hanging heavily in the non-existent hole that they had both dug their selves into.

"Who's 'Mione'?'"

Fanel, who had been staring absently out the window, wrenched back to reality with almost a visible jerk. He stood as if to grab Duo by the very lapels of his suit and beat the hell out of the younger man.

"I don't care if you're some pet project of Relena's." For all his morality, Fanel couldn't escape from some of the prejudices that came with his position in life. No matter how many times he affirmed to himself that he was *not* his father. "You have no right, no fucking right at all to come waltzing in and digging up ghosts from my past."

Duo leveled a cool glower at the ranting man and pulled a folder out of the magical hammer-space. Tossing the manila envelope to him, Duo cast a jaunty glance at the fuming diplomat. "Read it. You'll be surprised."

Fanel glared at Duo before ripping the folder open and taking out the thick sheaf of papers. On the very top pile, he found, in delicate, precise handwriting, the name of _Hermione Granger_. For an eternal second, everything stopped and was awash in the purest black, the darkest fear, and the most undying truth.

He could hardly find his voice. "How… How… How did you find out about…'Mione?" His tone wobbled.

"I have my ways."

Fanel ignored the comment. All he could do was absorb that _her_ name was before his eyes, after all the years he had yearned. Flipping through the packet with trembling fingers, he saw a birth certificate, past addresses, insurance reports, and copies of deeds of ownership; even report cards. And on the very last page, as he swallowed convulsively, he saw typed, monotonously, in the way all official documents are made, the line which read, "Current Address".

His face had gone white and his eyes glanced up, their green depths beseeching, begging for Duo to tell him that this was true, that this wasn't some sort of cruel joke that the pilot had concocted simply to torture him.

Duo nodded.

A low keen escaped his lips. All he could do was whisper over and over, "My 'Mione."

Duo snorted and the spell was broken. He stalked forward, his movements much like that of a lioness protecting her young. (^__^) "Now listen to me. I'm not letting Relena marry someone who doesn't want her the way she deserves to 'wanted'." He swept his arm in a wide arc. "And you are the problem. Relena's never going to be happy if she marries you."

As if in a daze, he looked up and locked eyes with Duo. And Duo breathed in sharply. There was a resignation, but also a resolution that Duo knew very well.

"I proposed and promised. Relena knows. Knows Hermione and me. And I know about her and Heero. That's why we agreed to this marriage. We both understand. And we both can survive." Fanel shut the folder gently, caressing the name in front again. "And even if 'Mione stood in front of me at this moment, even if she was to kiss me, I would still marry Relena. Because we _agreed_."

With that, Fanel handed the folder back to Duo and walked away, never looking back at the precious treasure he would have once killed to posses.

Duo cursed and stomped from the elegant stateroom before glaring at the folder as if this was 'its' entire error. Flipping through, he wondered darkly if there were other ways to sabotage a marriage that seemed, for all its faults, to be more than likely to go ahead.

_Rellie, Rellie, Rellie. What in the hell were you thinking?_

With a bitter laugh, he chucked the folder into a corner and was once again formulating ways to wreck the wedding and trying to figure out how to trick Heero into declaring his undying love in order to prevent Relena from making the biggest mistake of her life.

Long order for a guy, but if anyone could do it, Duo could.

Or at least, he tried to believe it.

* * *

Fanel found himself wandering around the castle. The sudden appearance of a ghost from his past had unnerved him, more than he would have liked to admit. For all he could bluster and display his bravado, seeing her name had been somewhat of a shock.

And an awakening call.

_I don't want to marry Relena._

"Hermione… I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Should I marry Relena and doom the two of us to a life of complete misery, or should I…" Fanel felt something burn at the back of his eyes. He blinked rapidly. He didn't cry anymore.

"Fanel?"

He swung around to see Relena's concerned person standing uncertainly behind him. His green eyes must've looked a trifle wild, since she immediately moved forward in and asked, "Are you alright? You seem ill."

"Relena. I…"

Relena eyes his disturbed countenance before quietly asking, "Has something happened?"

He could only shake his head in denial. He didn't want to think about 'Mione. He _couldn't_ think about her. "I'm alright. It's just been a tough day. That's all."

She nodded slowly, her expression inquisitive. "If… " She paused. "If anyone has been bothering you about me, anyone at all, just tell me and I'll make sure they stop." The dry streak in her tone wasn't lost on him.

With a snort, he nodded. "I know. So, I take it they weren't all that pleased."

"No… Quatre and Dorothy agreed to support us publicly… but some of my friends aren't accepting this… It's understandable. I'm so old now, and to suddenly be getting married… well, it's a shock."

"You're not that old. Only twenty-something."

She started. Holding very still for several moments, she managed to give him a queer smile. "Yes, only twenty-something."

There was a silence and Fanel then cleared his throat. "Relena. I'll tell you this now. I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Heero; the same between me and Hermione… but not matter what," His voice dropped to a low, intense whisper. "You and I _will_ marry."

Relena nodded. It was as much as she was expecting. They were both people who kept to their promises… and it wouldn't be the first time politicians went into marriages knowing the person their 'significant other' loved.

No, it wouldn't have been strange at all.

"Fanel. I understand."

"Which is why I'm asking you one last time: Are you sure?"

"Yes."

_Always, no matter what, yes._

* * *

Heero was having a bad day.

A horribly bad day.

A disgustingly, abnormally, patronizing, enigmatic bad, bad, bad, bad day.

And it was slowly getting worse with the hyper fairy known as Duo Maxwell bouncing into his room, his elf-like face filled with devious plans. There was no way he was letting this Fanel guy marry Relena without some sort of Olympic-style obstacle course in his way.

That wasn't his style.

Charging full-armor into the fray; now that was worthy of his roars… but this sly, tricky way of dealing with Relena and… Fanel, that just wasn't Duo Maxwell.

His lips curved into a dangerous grin.

_Of course it is. I just like pretending it isn't._

"Yo, Heero, my man. I'm thinking you look lonely."

Yes, the day was getting 'better' by the second.

"I'm not in the mood Duo."

"Whoa, didn't think you swung that way."

"…"

"Didn't think you swung any way actually."

"…"

"C'mon, join me and Wufei for a cute threesome!"

"…" Gun out, trigger cocked, let's shoot many, many holes in Duo Maxwell, hm?

Scream, loud sarcasm. "Gee, frighten a guy tens years off his life, why don't you?"

Hero sighed and tucked his precious metal contraption away. "Duo. Gun. Shoot. Door. Out."

"Yah, yah, yah. I get the picture. However, Heero, you do not."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it means, Hee-man. Think about it, if you don't want to lose little lady to Mr. I-Have-A-Pole-Up-My-Freaking-Ass. Not that his ass isn't to die for."

Heero did a very un-Heero thing to do and rolled his eyes. Trust Duo to notice the extra attributes of his only rival in the arena for Relena's affections. Though, his thoughts turning a characteristic gloomy color, he figured he was at the starting line while Fanel was only a few feet away from the finish.

Damn rabbit. And he just had to be the turtle.

"You know, Hee-man. I think you should fight for Relena. Like the old days, when the knights dueled for their fair ladies."

Heero glared at him.

"Or maybe not." Duo let out a sigh of frustration. If Heero wasn't willing to fight for Relena, in the end, he might have to resort to desperate measures and fight Fanel himself. __

_And wouldn't Wufei be pleased about that_. His thoughts decidedly soured.

However, all thoughts and plans were interrupted by Relena storming in, the coloring high in her face. Duo inwardly gulped. An angry Relena Darlian wasn't fun to handle… and she seemed a mite angrier than usual.

And she was dragging Fanel Delange by the arm, her lips pressed into thin lines, her face nearly blotchy with anger. Heero was now examining the two with disinterest, all the while ignoring the voices in his had that sang out; _you're the turtle, Heero!_

Relena planted herself in front of Duo, Fanel shifting uneasily beside her. Without sparing a glance at the other pilot, she hissed, "What were you THINKING? You, Duo, of all people!"

Duo straightened defensively, his indigo eyes flashing a dangerous chill. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you the same thing, _Relena_." He emphasized her name and felt a short spark of satisfaction at seeing her almost-unnoticeable flinch.

However, she valiantly pushed aside the shudder and ignored the chasm that was widening between the two of them. They stood off, both reluctant to start. There was the blackness of hurt in Relena's face and the darkness of betrayal in his.

"You promised. You said that you would, of all people, support me."

"I never promised, Relena. And I'm never going to. This may not be my place to say this, but you're being a fucking idiot." As his last words lashed out, Heero jerked and stared at Duo in half-shock. The normally jovial second pilot was *never* this angry.

Tears pricked at the corners of Relena's eyes. "You don't know anything, Duo. Please, I'm asking you, as a friend."

"And I'm acting as a friend in telling you that this marriage is a sham!"

She shook her head blindly. "No! You're being unreasonable! This is between Fanel and I! Not you, not my brother, not anyone!" Relena tried to breathe calmly even as she felt her entire body shake with suppressed hysterics. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to face such opposition from Duo!

Fanel put out a warning hand on Relena's waist and Heero nearly snarled at that familiar touch. The diplomat noticed the grimace and his face twisted subtly. In an intense voice, he asked, "You're Heero Yuy, aren't you?"

Heero felt his hands twitch; they were begging to be wrapped around that skinny (muscular) neck of his… just wanted to squeeze all the life from that pasty (tan) and rabbit-like (lion-like) face.

Fanel's eyes narrowed and he only moved closer to Relena. His protective stance wasn't lost on the still-arguing duo and they both glanced at the 'husbands-to-be' of Relena. With a wide-eyed expression of dismay, she tugged on Fanel's arm in order to distract him from his glare-contest with Heero Yuy.

The two men continued to eye each other, more than a little distaste in their set grimaces.

Duo suddenly shouted, "Damn you Heero! Hit the guy! Demand that Relena belongs to you!"

Relena whirled and screeched, "I AM NOT SOME SORT OF POSESSION TO BE FOUGHT OVER DUO MAXWELL!"

*BANG*

She swiftly turned and only could once more resemble a fish as she saw in slow motion, Fanel stagger backwards, nearly taking her with him, a bruise starting to blossom on his cheek, a cut spraying blood over his neat uniform.

And Heero standing with an unreadable – was that _satisfaction?_ – look on his face. Relena was too stunned to do anything but stand there, the muscles in her body going completely slack. Going slacker.

Fanel's face was blazing with absolute fury. Snarling, he launched forward and managed to clip a semi-surprised Heero Yuy right in the jaw. He hadn't taken all those classes for nothing after all.

Duo chanted, "Go, go, go, go, go, go! Heero, you da man!"

Relena tried to pull some sort of protest from her now-voiceless mouth. Her hands fluttered nervously and for one second, she wished that they were all lying in a grave, six feet deep. Only a second though.

Holding a hand out, she managed to finally croak out a near-indiscernible "no." And, for two testosterone-crazed men, that didn't even figure onto their acknowledgement scale. They continued their tussle, each forgetting all their training and just letting the age-old mating instincts of warm-blooded animals take over.

Soon, they had destroyed more than a good portion of the room in their eagerness to prove their, 'manliness'.

"Stop it, you two! Stop it!" she cried, her elegant hands flying to her hair as if in intense pain. "All of this is pointless! Please! Stop it!"

But the two were so far gone that not even her voice was reaching their minds. Relena could only watch with pain-ridden eyes. _They would rather battle out their foolish pride, then try to understand how *I* feel, how I want things to be._

Feeling that it was too much, she ran blindly from the room, sobbing now, just wanting to escape everything, to run away from the mess her life was currently in. In the hallway, she brushed past a startled Zechs and Quatre, both reacting too late to the sight of Relena running down the hallway.

They glanced at each other and with their abnormally good hearing, the faint noises of furniture being destroyed could be heard from the room she had just exited. Quatre's eyes widened at the implication and hurried forward, only to come face-to-face with Heero and Fanel Delange duking it out on the floor like common drunks.

Duo was standing in the background, now looking worried, but still offering bits of advice to Heero.

Zechs regained his voice much quicker than Quatre and bellowed, "What in the HELL do you think you two are doing?"

They stopped mid-punch and stared sheepishly at the irate Merquise.

He stalked forward, his teeth set on an edge. "Do you know Relena just ran out *crying*? Do you two know that she's already upset about this enough?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, he veritably roared, "I don't care! This is Relena's choice! If any of you, any of you at all, force her to make choices again, I will personally beat you all to a bloody pulp with a shovel!"

There was a long, shocked silence.

Finally, Duo found his voice. "A shovel?"

"Vague threats serve no purpose in my vocabulary. And killing you would be useless to the situation. So temporarily rendering *all* of you unable to move should solve the problem." His voice was interjected with dark humor, but certainly, none of the three men found much humor in the situation.

Fanel stood, his suit wrinkled, dirtied, ripped in places and slightly bloody. His face was starting to turn purple with the bruises and he didn't want to see what his eyes would look like tomorrow. Great. Either he would have to attend to Grand Ball with two black eyes or go sporting a pound of cover-up.

Noin and Dorothy entered the room, dragging Relena with them. Wufei followed from behind, his expression vaguely bored with the whole situation.

"We found her by the armory… she was… er… looking for a large mallet." Noin would only clarify that much, her lips curving into a suppressed smile.

Fanel hurried forward, a guilty expression now gracing his handsome features. "Relena, I'm so sorry. Things got out of control and…" His voice trailed off in horror as she pulled out an extraordinarily gigantic mallet. (Which can only appear in anime and manga)

Dorothy pressed a pacifying (ha!) hand on Relena's shuddering hands and shot a warning glance at everyone in the room. And in her smooth, cool voice, in a way only she could pull off, she uttered a single word. "Men."

There was a stunned silence before both Zechs and Quatre started protesting that awful, stereotypical, albeit very correct, view of the male species. Noin could only start laughing, her snorts of laughter sounding strange in the tense room.

Wufei snorted and added his own comments. "For once, I agree with the woman." He ignored the icy stare from both Dorothy and Duo. "Why Relena and Fanel can't become siblings is beyond me. Chinese tradition suits diplomacy better."

There was a long silence.

Long silence.

Very long silence.

Before Noin managed to stutter out, "Brother and sister?"

Wufei looked up at them from examining the damage to the room and found them all staring at him incredulously. Immediately moving to defensive, he said, "Yes. In the ancient China, it was a common occurrence for men or women to declare each other 'bond brothers' or 'bond sisters' in celebration of a momentous event." He eyed them curiously. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Zechs looked like a light bulb was flickering in his head, slowly sputtering back to life.

Relena and Fanel were staring at one another, a light dawning in their eyes.

Duo just looked ecstatic. "Brilliant Wufie! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're an idiot. And don't call me 'Wufie'."

Noin turned to Zechs, her face shining. "That's *it*! Zechs, we can announce at the ball that Fanel and Relena are swearing their bond ties to each other! Not only will this result in good relations with Asia, this solves all our problems!"

"Not all." They all turned to look at Relena, an unusually belligerent look on her face. "How are we to convince that we're going to be brother and sister? Unless we claim him as 'Milliardo Peacecraft'."

Wufei rolled his dark eyes. "You swear before the Gods and the people. What else?"

Quatre could only comment in a soft, wondering voice. "You know, that may just work."

The ideas started flying, from changing the layout of the Ball, to switching the decorations. There would have to be extra payout to the caterers and workers, but if everyone pitched in to help, everything had a chance of happening.

"Brother and sister, eh?" Fanel murmured to Relena.

"If you up for it, I guess I am."

"This is almost surreal…"

"I know. I guess that means no green-eyed, blond-haired kids."

"Or a house on both Earth and the colonies."

"Or being known as the most famous couple."

"Or eating together for the rest of our lives."

"And you can find your Hermione."

Fanel paused in his ruminations and a soft light seemed to spark in his emerald eyes. "To find 'Mione. To find her and ask her how she's been. To find her and kiss her."

Relena found herself grinning. "And to ask her to marry you."

"And you can find your 'hero'."

The two diplomats exchanged heady smiles before entering the fray and adding their two cents. After all, they would be the guests of honor.

* * *

At the ball, things had been going smoothly. All the expected guests had turned up and quite a few that weren't, also appeared. Relena had grown steadily more tense as the evening wore on, worried that the ceremony wouldn't go through, that the other diplomats simply wouldn't accept that sort of declaration.

"Attention, attention please! Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Grand Ball." One of Relena's aides was in her element, giving the speech Relena had originally planned to give herself. But considering the circumstances, she thought it best to minimize her appearances until the proclamation.

"May I present Relena Darlian, Vice-Foreign Minister, and Fanel Delange, Ambassador of the Third L Point!"

The applause was deafening at first, but all but died away in startled shock as Fanel's name was mentioned. Bulbs started flashing in a near maniacal fashion as the two walked up toward the speakerphone together. Explosions of whispers rose and fell like a flock of birds.

"Ms. Darlian and Mr. Delange?"

"My goodness! Do you think it might be…?"

"Marriage! Between the colonies and Earth!"

"A proposal of some sorts?"

Within minutes, rumors sprang out of the woodwork, each trying its best to outdo the others. Relena was viewed as one of the most coveted women in the known universe. Her standing within the political parties and her own personal wealth made her a woman much coveted.

Fanel, on the other hand, was a well-known bachelor who had resisted the advances of many a noble's daughter. It was a public fact that he wasn't the marrying type, even as he landed on one list or another as 'a most eligible bachelor'.

The two of them together could only mean one thing.

Now there was a delighted whispering. This couldn't have gone better for anyone. Even the ones opposed to Relena or Fanel thought this good for relations between the colonies and Earth.

Relena subtly winked at Fanel. As she waved for the cameras, she murmured, "This will certainly shock the lot."

Shaking his head in amusement, they ascended the platform and Fanel, with a nod from Relena, took the microphone.

"Greetings to all gathered. As most know, Relena and I have been friends of some time. We have agreed mutually, for the sake between Earth and the colonies, that it was time to move our relationship to the next level." He paused. That had sounded suspiciously… well, wrong. He could almost sense Relena's glare beside him. Grinning sheepishly, he continued, "What I mean is that Relena Darlian and I have decided to follow the age-old custom according to Asia, of declaring our bonding as brother and sister."

Dead, heavy silence.

Duo whispered to Wufei in the background, "Is this supposed to happen?"

"Shut up and listen. It's only shock."

Dorothy, who was nearby, snorted softly, before starting to clap like they planned.

With almost a mechanical and confused air, the others followed suit, hesitant at first, but slowly more enthusiastically, until it seemed that there hadn't been a single person in the room who doubted that this would have happened.

_Diplomats. So easy to manipulate sometimes. _Quatre couldn't help but think with almost a little smirk. He would have to work on that later.

Relena and Fanel glanced at each other and grinned. Things were going better than they had thought. Nothing better could have occurred but the seemingly endless support for their initiation into siblings.

Not that either of them were more than a bit worried…

"Ready?"

"You bet your life on it."

Walking toward the elaborate ceremonial fixtures, they clasped their hands together, and Relena couldn't help but feel a touch of nostalgia and regret. After all, he _was _a nice-looking man with a pleasant demeanor. And he would have been a devoted husband and father, to say the least… and she knew she would miss those things in her real husband… whoever he may be.

Leaning forward, going through the motions of taking the incense, lighting each fragrant stick carefully, they stood before the shining figures of – Relena still had no idea who they were – the Asian religion and with great solemnity, they bowed three times, in perfect sync.

And they were declared brother and sister.

The crowd, which seemed to get some of their brains back, immediately stormed forward to congratulate the siblings, still slightly confused, but more than willing to kiss the asses of their fellow 'royalty'. And with great equanimity, Relena and Fanel received them as if they had just gotten married.

It was quite a night.

And Heero planned to extend the definition and cliché even more.

So here he was, in the garden, waiting for Duo to bring her out, as they had planned.

(There had been a lot of plans that night… strange…)

"Duo, what in the world are you doing?"

"Got something to show you, Princess."

"Oh? I hope it's not some sort of 'shag shack' you and Wufei created on my grounds."

"No, nothing like that."

"Or perhaps you're intending to tell me that you're actually madly in love with me."

"Sorry babe. Wish it were so."

He could hear her impatience start to rise.

"Duo! I need to get back! It was out of sheer luck that we managed to pull this off without any of diplomats rioting!"

"I know sweetie! But this is super-duper important."

A roll of eyes.

"And you can't tell me in the nice, warm ballroom?"

"Nope. Has to be in the gardens."

A suspicious silence.

"Which happens to be dark."

"Yep."

"And supposedly empty."

"Yep."

"And claimed to be a 'romantic' setting."

"Yep."

"The perfect place where, say, a soldier, could hide out?"

"Er… nope?"

The sharp sound of two feet planting itself into the dirt and refusing to budge another inch.

"Duo! NO! I will *not* go philandering around the gardens with Heero for any excuse!"

"C'mon Lena! Please, for me?"

"No! You can go and tell him to go where the sun don't shine!"

A pause.

"I hope you're not meaning what I think you're thinking to mean."

"No, but all the same, tell him that I would rather see him in a big, smoldering pile of ash."

"Ah, true love."

A shriek of outrage.

"DUO! Let go of me this instant!"

"Too late! Hey, Heero, m'man!"

Heero came bounding out of the bushes, his arms more than ready to relinquish Duo of his precious Princess. With barely a sound, he whisked Relena away and Duo found himself alone in the garden, conspicuously alone. Within a second and a half.

"Now THAT"S scary."

Heero was dragging Relena deeper and deeper into the dark, scary, lonely gardens of the mansion. And Relena found herself getting angrier and angrier and angrier. Enough so that good vocabulary completely escaped her mind.

"Heero. Let me go. Or I will be forced to revoke my pacifist vows."

He merely did his little, "Hn."

She tried coaxing next. "Heero, I know you're regressing toward childhood personas by dragging on the nearest female, but don't worry. Just take me back and I'll commit you to the mental institution. Hopefully forever."

Another silence.

Relena tacked on pleading. "Heero! I need to go back! They're probably all panicking."

As if *that* would have stopped the 'imperfect' soldier.

And now she just started screaming for someone to come help her, even though she knew not a soul could hear screams from the middle of the garden. _Blasted bushes!_

He stopped so abruptly that she stumbled into his hard back. About to berate him on the finer points of etiquette, she found herself with a mouthful of deliciously warm lips that belonged to no other than Heero Yuy.

Oh.

The burning waves of heat seemed to radiate off of him, burning every inch of her flesh that was in contact with his. Silver blades danced on her sensitive nerves, her poor nerves that never recovered from the last kiss, and were now being submitted to another attack.

Sweet.

She could almost feel her legs turn to jelly-like mush, the kiss running its… or were those his… fingers up and down her back, caressing each ridge with careful scrutiny.

Struck by the absurdity of the situation, Relena managed a weak laugh. Heero released her lips slowly and looked down at her with an amused smile… or as close to a smile as he could get. It seemed more like a carefully measured grimace.

She pushed him away and stood erect and stiff. Inwardly she sighed, knowing that the time had finally come to straighten out the mess they had created by being cowards. __

_After all these years, of him pretending, of me pretending, of him blind, of me blinder, it boils down to this, I guess._

"Relena."

"Heero."

The oddly formal words were strained, and for a wild moment, Relena wanted to grab Heero and shake him until his brains fell from his head to his heart. Then, maybe, she could move on.

"Relena."

Sigh.

"Heero."

"Duo was right."

"WHAT?" Relena imitated the ever-present fish again. Duo was _right_? She had always thought hell would freeze over before he would admit that the _baka_ as he would say, was ever correct in his ideas or thoughts. Was the world ending… again?

"He was right. I should have told you."

"Told m what?" She was wary now. Relena didn't like vague sentences and scurried words.

"That… er… you're… that I… what I mean is…" For the life of him, he couldn't press the words from his throat. They had curiously stuck there and were clinging with the ferocity of a grindylow.

Relena hesitated. Perhaps Heero had a horrible confession to make? It wouldn't be strange, where it concerned the Gundam pilots. Adopting her motherly tone, she patted Heero on the shoulder and said, "That's alright Heero. You don't have to tell me if you do—urk!"

The 'urk' symbolized every single surprising emotion she had ever felt with him, as he bent down on his knees and pulled a red velvet box out of – the place where he kept his guns? – and averted his eyes. "Relena. I would like to say that I… l… l… love." He paused, as if this took all his strength for a moment. "You." He finished.

A bird chirped.

"You what?"

"I… l… l… l… love… you."

"Once more please, with feeling."

"Omae no korosu! I love you!"

Another bird chirped.

"You… love me?"

"Yes." He grated out. This was _hard_!

He risked a look upwards and saw to his surprise, a shimmering in her eyes. And with the move done by millions of women before her, Relena sobbed once and threw herself into his arms, knocking the two of them over.

"Oh, Heero! I love you too! I love you just as much!"

To say he was a bit shocked was an understatement. Duo had said she would be angry at first, yelling, screaming, kicking, punching…

"But you jerk! You put me through all that without reason then!" Punch, kick, punch again, twist, batter.

Ah, here it was.

"Relena… and therefore, the beauty of my life, will you do the eternal honor of becoming my devoted wife who will always lie with me in the beaches of sunrise?"

Her eyes widened in shock… then in suspicion. "Heero. You didn't write that yourself did you?"

"No… I asked Duo for help."

"Oh."

Relena tried to discern whether she was angry or sad… well, either one, but she figured she had ample time to punish Duo later. Right now, she wanted to concentrate on kissing her soon-to-be-husband.

And there was a difference between those kisses and her first one. A hell lot of difference…

Heero rolled her over and lavished tender care on her pale neck, sucking on the hollow within her throat, kissing at the point where her shoulder met her neck, licking at the outer rim of her ear.

Relena felt her entire body just _melt_.

A cough.

The two looked up through a haze of misty desire and saw Zechs, Lu, Sally, Wufei, Dorothy, Quatre, Catherine, Lance, Fanel, Trowa, Hilde and of course, Duo, standing there, all grinning. (Or in Trowa's case, a small smile).

Fanel's cat-got-the-canary smile got even wider and he said, in a mocking tone, "Well, little sister, I turn my back for a moment and you're rolling on the floor with Heero. Dear Zechs, how did you handle it before?"

"Before, she didn't have Heero around to corrupt her."

He nodded and then turned toward Relena again, a beaming shine in his eyes. "Relena, now would be a good time to tell you that I called 'Mione. And we've agreed to meet again. And she said none of it was my fault, and that if there was blame, it should be on the fates that separated us by birth." He noticed the blank stares. "She's into astronomy and stuff like that."

The group collectively echoed, "Ohhhh."

Relena giggled, a childish, muffled sound from being pressed against Heero. Duo's eyes alighted with wickedness. Winking at the group, he ran forward and jumped onto Heero. With a surprised grunt and a muffled shriek, the three rolled into a indiscriminate pile of arms, legs and heads.

_'Cause everyone keeps forgetting that the one who actually won the race was the turtle, and not the rabbit. Maybe a lesson can be learned here._

The others glanced at each other and then with shrugs, they ran forward and tumbled in too. The laughter was louder than screaming and for a moment, the once-again confused guests could have sworn they heard an almighty voice that sighed and said, "Finally."

**- FIN -**


End file.
